Commentary by David Duke —Below is news about one more study in addition to thousands of other studies showing the incredible protective health benefits of vitamin D3. Note how the serum levels of D3 (25-OHD) were much more protective at the highest levels which is much higher than recommended by government medical associations. As one of the previous studies here mentions, those with levels of greater than 80 nmol of D3 in their blood were vastly less likely to die from cancer — Literally 64 percent less likely to die from cancer than those with low vitamin D3 levels!
In addition to cancer prevention, vitamin D3 which is actually far more than a vitamin and affects over 2000 genes, has a protective effect on all kinds of ailments and diseases besides cancer prevention, including heart disease. The best way to get your vitamin D3 is from the sun, but if you are in temperate regions, you can only really make vitamin D3 from the sun during the summer and only when the sun is at its highest point in the sky (usually around noontime). The next best source seems to be vitamin D3 supplementation which is inexpensive but essential if you are going to raise your D3 to protective levels. You can’t get enough D3 from any food sources by themselves to significantly raise D3 levels. D3 is an evolutionary adaption of our ancestors to spending hundreds of thousands of years being constantly outdoors in the sun. It is a sun dependent vitamin. Luckily today, D3 is not patented, is very cheap and available in supplementation. Dr. D.
As I have said and written repeatedly. If there is one supplement you should take over all else, it is vitamin D3. Estimates are that if the vitamin d3 level of the population was raised to high level, heart disease and cancers would fall by more than 25 percent! That is bad news for the huge medical and healthcare industry, …but great news for you only if you take advantage of this vital information!
A new study in Cancer Causes and Control suggests that maintaining a high level of serum vitamin D may help fight a variety of malignancies including breast cancer, colon cancer, lung cancer and lymphoma. Previous studies suggest taking vitamin D supplements may fight prostate cancer as well.
The current study included 658 patients with breast cancer (n = 251), colon cancer (n = 52), lung cancer (n = 210), and lymphoma (n = 145), who were registered to JANUS, a population-based serum bank in Norway.
All cancers were diagnosed between 1984 and 2004 and patients were followed for death throughout 2008. During the follow-up, 399 patients died of whom 343 or 86 percent died from cancer.
For the study, blood samples were collected within 90 days of cancer diagnosis and were analyzed for 25-OHD or 25-hydroxyvitamin D. Serum vitamin D levels were then investigated to see if they were associated with risk of death or mortality among these Norwegian cancer patients.
After adjustment for gender, age at diagnosis, and season of blood sampling, patients with 25-OHD levels below 46 nmol/L at diagnosis were at higher risk for shorter survival, compared to those who had a higher vitamin D level.
Patients with their serum vitamin D (25-OHD) in the highest quartile were 64 percent less likely to die from cancer, compared to those with their serum vitamin D levels in the lowest quartile.
The association between vitamin D levels and survival odds was observed for all four cancers – breast cancer, colon cancer, lung cancer and lymphoma.
The researchers concluded “Higher circulating serum levels of 25-OHD were positively associated with the survival for cancers of the breast, colon, lung, and lymphoma.”
The study was conducted by S. Tretli of Institute of Population-based Cancer Research in Majorstuen, Oslo, Norway and colleagues.
According to Vitamin D Council, vitamin D deficiency has been associated with increased risk of 17 types of cancers including breast cancer, lung cancer, colon cancer and lymphoma.
Tretli et al. reported in 2009 in British Journal of Cancer that prostate cancer patients with medium or high levels of serum vitamin D were 67 or 84 percent more likely to have a better prognosis, compared to those who had low serum vitamin D levels.
In this study, the serum level of 25(OH)D at <50 nmol/L was defined as low, 50-80 nmol/L as medium and at >80 nmol/L as high.
Tretli et al. also reported in 2004 in Cancer Causes and Control that a high level of vitamin d3 at the time of diagnosis and after treatment, may improve prognosis of breast cancer, colon cancer or prostate cancer.
Breast cancer and prostate cancer are expected to be diagnosed in about 230,000 women and 230,000 men respectively, according to the National Cancer Institute. These cancers in many cases are preventable by following a healthy lifestyle including a healthy diet.
